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Chelmsford rallies for fire victims

By Grant Welker, gwelker@lowellsun.com

Updated:
01/08/2013 01:45:10 PM EST

CHELMSFORD -- Tables in the Senior Center's gymnasium were stacked with clothing, food, toiletries and other goods on Monday, as community support poured in for dozens of people left homeless after a fire late Saturday night destroyed a Littleton Road condominium building.

Fire officials had not determined an exact cause of the fire Monday but ruled it accidental. The couple who died in the fire were Susan Astle and Paul Deslauriers, the Middlesex District Attorney's office confirmed.

Astle, 67, and Deslauriers, 77, lived on the third floor of the 24-unit Woodcrest Condominium building. Astle, whose maiden name was Humphrey, was a 1963 graduate of Chelmsford High School, where she played field hockey and softball, said George Dixon, a selectman who knew her in school.

George Simonian, who taught Astle in biology at the time, said she wasn't the type of student to stand out but was a "blue-collar" type of worker. She was later involved in the Chelmsford High School Alumni Association, said Simonian, the organization's executive director.

Deslauriers was a former Tyngsboro police sergeant who retired in 1982.

Retired Tyngsboro Police Chief Charles Chronopoulos said Deslauriers was a veteran of the years when Tyngsboro only had one police cruiser. He and Deslauriers would both use that car.

"He was good with people, especially with kids," Chronopoulos said. "He was a really good guy to be around and a good man to have on the police force, especially in a town like Tyngsboro."

Former Deputy Chief Richard Burrows also remembered Deslauriers, though Deslauriers retired before Burrows joined the force 27 years ago.

Burrows said Deslauriers would still stop by the station or be seen around town occasionally, always offering to help out or lend a hand. Burrows said Deslauriers gave him an old Tyngsboro police coat when Burrows joined the force.

"He was a very nice guy," Burrows said.

Chronopoulos said Deslauriers would never complain, even later in life as he went through some medical issues.

"He was there when you needed him. He did his job," Chronopoulos said. "Everyone liked him. All my prayers are with him and his family."

Tyngsboro selectmen observed a moment of silence for Deslauriers at their Monday night meeting.

Five others were injured in the fire, including a 7-year-old boy who suffered severe burns. His name and condition could not be determined Monday.

All of the building's remaining residents were displaced. The Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts said it gave aid to 33 people, including giving blankets to 15 people the night of the fire. The town provided hotel rooms to two families Sunday night.

Stefani Bush, one of the organizers of the aid effort, said residents were still working to get in touch with some displaced residents. The effort was complicated because many were not able to take their cellphones with them, and many also didn't have their cars because they were parked in an underground garage beneath the building, which people were barred from entering because it was structurally unsafe.

"It's a matter of connecting with them," said Deb Siriani, the Senior Center director.

In the center's gym, containers of food covered one table, toiletries were stacked up on another, and blankets, scarves and shoes were piled on others. In front of the stage, a long row of tables had clothes sorted by size for men and women. By late Monday afternoon, more than $2,600 in gift cards had been donated.

Residents organizing the drive are requesting gift cards, particularly American Express or Visa cards that could be used anywhere, Bush said. Enough clothes have already been donated, but whatever can't be used by those displaced by the fire will be donated to area charities, she said.

"It's great to get all the donations, but we want to make sure they're getting all the help they need," Bush said.

Some displaced residents, along with curious onlookers, stopped by the fire-ravaged building Monday.

Kenath Traegde, a third-floor resident who has lived in the building since 1990, said he was able to get out quickly once he smelled smoke from down the hallway. He was sharing stories of the fire with Michael Schwartz, another third-floor resident who didn't escape the building until later on.

Schwartz said he was stuck on his balcony with his wife, "choking on the fumes," until firefighters were able to rescue them with a ladder. They tried escaping through the hall after they smelled smoke but were pushed back by heavy smoke, he said.

"We were the last ones rescued from the building," he said. "We were stranded on the balcony."

Bush said she heard stories of great work done by firefighters, including a woman who was rescued from her bed by a firefighter who broke through her door with an ax.

The building did not have a sprinkler system, which was not required at the time it was built, except in the basement garage. Older buildings are exempt through a grandfather clause unless they undergo extensive renovations, according to the state Fire Marshal's Office. But a sprinkler system could have saved lives, Fire Marshal Stephen Coan stressed.

While fire officials continued their investigation, residents from Chelmsford and area towns flooded into fire stations and the Senior Center with donated goods and gift cards. Just as firefighters were talking about the donations, a woman opened the door to offer an Old Navy gift card.

Anyone who wants to help organize the fundraising effort can meet with organizers tonight at 7 at the Senior Center. After that meeting, organizers will meet with the public to discuss specific needs of families and what donations are needed.

U-Haul has offered 30 days of free self-storage and U-Box pods for those displaced by the fire. Tenants may contact the company at 978-961-0170.

Sun reporter Robert Mills contributed to this report. Follow Grant Welker at Twitter.com/SunGrantWelker. Follow Robert Mills at Robert_Mills.

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